Riding the Waves: Syrian Swimmer Sarah Mardini on the Perils and Triumphs of a Humanitarian Refugee

Swimming was a family legacy for Sarah Mardini, but she never imagined her skills would save her from violence and death. The war in Syria — that displaced over half of the country's population— pushed Sarah and her sister to flee to Greece by water and, in desperation, to plunge into the sea to pull their boat to safety.

Once settled in Europe, Sarah's efforts to provide emergency response and humanitarian aid for refugees resulted in charges against her. She spent 107 days inside a high-security Greek prison for alleged crimes including people-smuggling, spying, violation of state secrecy laws and money laundering. Large-scale social media campaigns and demands from European Government officials and leading human rights organizations advocated for Sarah's innocence, under the slogan "humanitarian action is not a crime." In this episode, we learn about the Syrian refugee crisis, the harrowing journey that many refugees take to find safety, misconceptions about migrants, and the complexity of humanitarian action.

Host: Hazami Barmada, Founder and CEO, Humanity Lab Foundation.

HAZAMI BARMADA is the Founder & CEO of Humanity Lab Foundation and co-Executive Producer & Host

Finding Humanity Podcast. Hazami is a social entrepreneur, thought leader, and public affairs and social impact expert recognized by Forbes as an “inspirational agent of change.” She has consulted for many leading global brands including the United Nations, United Nations Foundation, Aspen Institute, and the Royal Court of the Sultanate of Oman. Among her posts at the United Nations, she served as the Coordinator for the United Nations Secretary General's World Humanitarian Summit, an Advisor to the first-ever United Nations Secretary-General's Youth Envoy, as a member of the United Nations SDG Strategy Hub for the launch of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. Hazami has a Masters from Harvard University where she was an Edward S. Mason Fellow in Public Policy and Management. She studied social and public policy at Georgetown University and has a BA in Anthropology and Sociology. Twitter: @hazamibarmada

Finding Humanity is a production of Humanity Lab Foundation and Hueman Group Media. 

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